Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, August 3rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

New Century Version

John 19:21

The leading priests said to Pilate, "Don't write, ‘The King of the Jews.' But write, ‘This man said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Death;   Indictments;   Jesus, the Christ;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Persecution;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Christianity;   Humiliation of Christ;   Jesus Christ;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Inscription;   John, the Gospel of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - King, Christ as;   Pilate, Pontius;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for March 5;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”
King James Version (1611)
Then said the chiefe Priests of the Iewes to Pilate, Write not, The king of the Iewes: but that he said, I am King of the Iewes.
King James Version
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
English Standard Version
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,' but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"
New American Standard Bible
So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; rather, write that He said, 'I am King of the Jews.'"
Amplified Bible
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but, 'He said, "I am King of the Jews."'"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but that He said, 'I am King of the Jews.'"
Legacy Standard Bible
So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews;' but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.'"
Berean Standard Bible
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but only that He said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"
Contemporary English Version
So the chief priests went to Pilate and said, "Why did you write that he is King of the Jews? You should have written, ‘He claimed to be King of the Jews.'"
Complete Jewish Bible
The Judeans' head cohanim therefore said to Pilate, "Don't write, ‘The King of the Jews,' but ‘He said, "I am King of the Jews."'"
Darby Translation
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Do not write, The king of the Jews, but that *he* said, I am king of the Jews.
Easy-to-Read Version
The leading Jewish priests said to Pilate, "Don't write, ‘The King of the Jews.' But write, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.'"
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide the hie Priests of the Iewes to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Iewes, but that he sayd, I am King of the Iewes.
George Lamsa Translation
The high priests then said to Pilate, Do not write that he is the king of the Jews; but that he said, I am the king of the Jews.
Good News Translation
The chief priests said to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,' but rather, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.'"
Lexham English Bible
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The king of the Jews,' but, ‘He said, I am king of the Jews.'"
Literal Translation
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but that One said, I am King of the Jews.
American Standard Version
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but, that he said, I am King of the Jews.
Bible in Basic English
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not put, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am the King of the Jews.
Hebrew Names Version
The chief Kohanim of the Yehudim therefore said to Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Yehudim,' but that, 'he said, I am King of the Yehudim.'"
International Standard Version
Then the Jewish high priests told Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that this fellow said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"
Etheridge Translation
And the chief priests said to Pilatos, Do not write that he is king of the Jihudoyee, but that he said, I am the king of the Jihudoyee.
Murdock Translation
And the chief priests said to Pilate: Write not that he is king of the Jews, but that he said I am king of the Jews.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayde the hye priestes of the Iewes to Pilate, Write not kyng of the Iewes: but, that he sayde, I am kyng of the Iewes.
English Revised Version
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but, that he said, I am King of the Jews.
World English Bible
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that, 'he said, I am King of the Jews.'"
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Then said the chief priests to Pilate, Write not, the king of the Jews; but that he said, I am the king of the Jews.
Weymouth's New Testament
This led the Jewish High Priests to remonstrate with Pilate. "You should not write `The King of the Jews,'" they said, "but that he claimed to be King of the Jews."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the bischops of the Jewis seiden to Pilat, Nyle thou write kyng of Jewis, but for he seide, Y am king of Jewis.
Update Bible Version
The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
New English Translation
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The king of the Jews,' but rather, ‘This man said, I am king of the Jews.'"
New King James Version
Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, "The King of the Jews,' but, "He said, "I am the King of the Jews.""'
New Living Translation
Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, "Change it from ‘The King of the Jews' to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.'"
New Life Bible
Then the head religious leaders of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews'! Write, ‘He said, I am the King of the Jews.'"
New Revised Standard
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,' but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The High-priests of the Jews, therefore, were saying unto Pilate - Do not be writing, The King of the Jews; but that, he, said: King of the Jews, I am.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not: The King of the Jews. But that he said: I am the King of the Jews.
Revised Standard Version
The chief priests of the Jews then said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Then sayde the hye prestes of ye Iewes to Pylate: wryte not kynge of the Iewes: but that he sayde I am kynge of the Iewes.
Young's Literal Translation
The chief priests of the Jews said, therefore, to Pilate, `Write not -- The king of the Jews, but that one said, I am king of the Jews;'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde the hye prestes of the Iewes vnto Pilate: Wryte not kynge of the Iewes, but yt he sayde, I am kynge of the Iewes.
Mace New Testament (1729)
thereupon the chief priests of the Jews went to Pilate, saying, don't write, "The king of the Jews;" but that he said, I am king of the Jews.
Simplified Cowboy Version
The religious leaders objected and asked the sign be changed to, "He said he was the king of the Jews."

Contextual Overview

19 Pilate wrote a sign and put it on the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews . 20 The sign was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Many of the people read the sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. 21 The leading priests said to Pilate, "Don't write, ‘The King of the Jews.' But write, ‘This man said, "I am the King of the Jews."'" 22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." 23 After the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, with each soldier getting one part. They also took his long shirt, which was all one piece of cloth, woven from top to bottom. 24 So the soldiers said to each other, "We should not tear this into parts. Let's throw lots to see who will get it." This happened so that this Scripture would come true: "They divided my clothes among them, and they threw lots for my clothing." Psalm 22:18 So the soldiers did this. 25 Standing near his cross were Jesus' mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the follower he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son." 27 Then he said to the follower, "Here is your mother." From that time on, the follower took her to live in his home. 28 After this, Jesus knew that everything had been done. So that the Scripture would come true, he said, "I am thirsty."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Luke 23:49 - the women John 18:38 - I find

Cross-References

Genesis 4:7
If you do things well, I will accept you, but if you do not do them well, sin is ready to attack you. Sin wants you, but you must rule over it."
Genesis 12:2
I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
Genesis 18:24
What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the fifty good people living there.
Genesis 19:8
Look! I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. I will give them to you, and you may do anything you want with them. But please don't do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them."
Genesis 19:9
The men around the house answered, "Move out of the way!" Then they said to each other, "This man Lot came to our city as a stranger, and now he wants to tell us what to do!" They said to Lot, "We will do worse things to you than to them." They started pushing him back and were ready to break down the door.
Genesis 19:15
At dawn the next morning, the angels begged Lot to hurry. They said, "Go! Take your wife and your two daughters with you so you will not be destroyed when the city is punished."
Genesis 19:16
But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family.
Psalms 34:15
The Lord sees the good people and listens to their prayers.
Psalms 102:17
He will answer the prayers of the needy; he will not reject their prayers.
Psalms 145:19
He gives those who respect him what they want. He listens when they cry, and he saves them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate,.... Who were not only informed of this inscription, but might read it themselves, for they were present at the crucifying of Christ, and mocked at him as he hung on the tree; these, when they read the title, were greatly offended at it, partly because it was doing too great an honour to Jesus to call him the King of the Jews: and partly because it fixed a public brand of infamy upon their nation, that a king of theirs should be crucified: wherefore they went to Pilate and addressed him, saying,

write not the King of the Jews: because they did not own him for their king, which this title seemed to suggest, nor had he in their opinion any right to such a character; wherefore they desired that in the room of these words he would be pleased to put the following,

but that he said, I am King of the Jews; that so he might be thought to be a seditious person and a traitor; one that laid claim to the temporal crown and kingdom of Israel, and one that suffered justly for attempts of that kind.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 27:32-37.

John 19:22

What I have written ... - This declaration implied that he would make no change. He was impatient, and weary of their solicitations. He had yielded to them contrary to the convictions of his own conscience, and he now declared his purpose to yield no further.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile